BY KE E N A A LWA H AIDI
THE STRESS OF
The Return For many stylists and clients alike, returning to the salons is the first of many stresses after the pandemic comes to an end. Finding ways to have a safe return and make yourself, your team and your clients comfortable will be a feat. Having said that, it’ll just as well be a triumph. But getting balance between safety, normality, and comfort will take effort and responsibility. Your clients will be wondering what to expect, and you might be wondering how you can fulfill those expectations. Hairstylist, beauty expert, and salon owner Salvatore Leonetti knows what this will be like. He owns Salvatore Leonetti Salon in Toronto, Ont. and has appeared on a slew of television shows like Cityline and segments at The Shopping Channel. Through the pandemic, appearing on television has been much of “creating content to help people with their everyday at home, and dealing with any challenges they may have in this current situation.” But his salon has been closed since November, and had been closed for 5 months last year prior.
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Like many beauty professionals in the industry, the way he maneuvers everyday endeavours has shifted. Post-pandemic, he also has a few ideas on how the future of hair might look when things return to normal. “The concern I think for a lot of salon owners now is a stylist thinking that this is a future and not wanting to go back working in a structured environment like a hair salon, and having to pay commission and all that stuff.” Leonetti says many salon owners are thinking about what the “new roadmap” is going to look like for a hair salon. Coming back to the salon is exciting, but he says there will be different avenues of approaching clients after the pandemic. “The client has gone from, how do I style my own hair for a Zoom meeting?’ or, ‘how can I cut my son’s hair, my daughter’s hair? How can I make my curly hair look vibrant,’ to now asking for: ‘what do I ask for when I go back?’” There could be a multitude of scenarios that will arise as people return to the chairs. He advises that stylists “allot a few extra minutes” in appointments in order to sort through their clients’ new needs.
At the same time, many have been getting familiar with tools and resources that they could be using post-pandemic. One of them is social media and connecting with clients through images. “It’s become our portfolios. We used to go do a job with an agency or try to get into an agency, the first thing they said is ‘build your portfolio.’ Now, they just want to see your Insta’. “Our biggest kind of content is the stuff that we do, and the hair that we do,” he says. Coming back to the salon will mean taking advantage of the platform he does this through, which is essentially the work he does behind the chair. Being in the salon will mean taking full advantage of all that it has to offer – including showcasing that to social media followers. It’s a tool that’ll “help rebuild yourself again,” says Leonetti.
